How to Plant, Grow, and Care for Celeriac: – This underappreciated vegetable with knobby roots may have an unattractive appearance, but it has a truly pleasant flavor and may be stored for more than six months over the winter. Logan Hailey, a former organic farmer, delves into the secrets of cultivating huge, earthy celery roots for use in a variety of dishes, including soups, stews, roasts, and more for the purpose of this piece.
How to Plant, Grow, and Care for Celeriac
What is Celeriac?
- Celery root, knob celery, turnip celery, and celery root are various names that are frequently used to refer to the vegetable that is known as celeriac. Because of its earthy flavor and the texture of a potato, it is an excellent ingredient for soups. This is a crop that grows slowly and is harvested in the fall for autumnal roasts and winter root storage. It is planted in the spring or early summer and is harvested in the fall.
- The flat, serrated leaves and green fleshy ribbed stalks of celery root are distinguishable characteristics of this plant, which is closely related to both celery and parsley. Nevertheless, the stalks of celeriac should not be consumed in any way.
- The big, bulbous, spherical root typically emerges above the soil and has a diameter that ranges from four to six inches on average. You may easily remove the gnarled and unattractive skins by cutting them off or peeling them away to expose the lovely white meaty interior.
Where Does Celeriac Originate?
- It is likely that celeriac originated in the Mediterranean region, just as its close relative celery. The plant is a different kind, despite the fact that it is commonly referred to as celery root. The wild celery, also known as Apium graveolens, was initially cultivated in ancient Egypt for its medical properties. Celeriac is a descendant of this plant. Tombs belonging to Egyptian pharaohs have been discovered to contain the leaves of wild celery.
- In the early 1600s, it was first documented as a food plant in France. Subsequently, it quickly expanded throughout North Africa and Europe as a staple winter root. Despite the fact that celeriac has been available in the United States since the 19th century, it has only recently gained popularity in the culinary world.
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Propagation
- Celeriac is not a crop that should be grown by gardeners who are eager because it can take up to 120 days to mature. It is possible to grow this winter root through the use of seeds beginning in the early spring. When the plants are young, they are quite susceptible to cold temperatures, but when they are mature, they are somewhat cold-tolerant.
- It is possible to make the most significant error while dealing with celery root by transplanting it too soon. During the early stages of growth, seedlings that have been subjected to temperatures below 55 degrees Fahrenheit (13 degrees Celsius) for ten days or longer are extremely susceptible to bolting, which is the process of going to seed.
- Although celeriac is officially a biannual crop, which means it grows for two years, we cultivate it as an annual in our gardens. This indicates that we need to take further precautions to ensure that we plant seeds and transplant them at the appropriate time and under the appropriate conditions.
Seed
- While it may be challenging to locate celery root as a nursery start, the seed is readily available in nearly any nursery. Due of the young plant’s sensitivity to cold temperatures, it is recommended that these plants be started indoors in the majority of climates. It is recommended that seeds be planted in cell trays in the early spring, ten to twelve weeks before the date of your last frost. Celeriac can be cultivated from fall sowing all the way through winter in southern zones 9 and warmer and throughout the year.
- Using a seed starting mix that has been thoroughly drained, prepare cell trays. Two seeds should be planted in each cell at a depth of approximately 1/8 inch, and the soil mix or vermiculite should be covered very gently. Because light is necessary for the process of germination, you should avoid burying them too deeply. It is essential that the soil maintains a constant moisture level and a temperature range of approximately 70-75 degrees Fahrenheit (21-24 degrees Celsius). When the seeds have been sown, germination heating mats are useful until the seeds emerge two to three weeks later. At that point, the temperature can be lowered to between 16 and 21 degrees Celsius (60 to 70 degrees Fahrenheit).
- Due to the fact that this crop is begun in such an early spring, when there is little anything else growing, it can take up great real estate, such as a warm window that faces south, a tiny greenhouse, or your indoor grow light system.
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